The First battle Cry
by slayer123bio
Summary: After third impact the world has to rip, tear and pound itself back together, how will Asuka adapt in an age of insecurity and turmoil, and how will this shape and change her. This will be a darker fanfic with high and low points throughout
1. The First Cry of Life

**The First Cry of life**

"Why does this always happen to me?" Shinji whimpered at the sky.

Shinji sat on his knees, his face directed towards the uncaring moon as tears streaked down his face. He gasped and pinched his nose, trying his hardest to hold back the burst of emotions that were building inside of him. Behind him stood unit 01, looking down at him with expectant eyes, the Eva had come from nowhere at Shinji's howl.

Shinji glanced behind him at the Evangelion with a mixture of hate and determination. Shinji failed to notice a black shadowy figure standing in front of him that evaporated as soon as he looked back. Shinji clawed at the sand and watched it pass through his fingers before looking to his right, towards the sea at the dissolving Rei ANGEL. He had to wonder whether Rei had any clue as to what she had done and what she had made him do. No, not instrumentality, but the price of his choice, to allow everyone to choose. Humans were not meant to come back from instrumentality, that was something he could feel in every fibre of his being, and now that they could, and would, an unnatural process had begun, one that would right itself in a most terrible way. Well, it would if he did nothing about it.

He looked further down the beach at the unconscious redhead a mile away. He could only make out her hair in the rising sunlight at the distance he had made between them. For all Shinji knew, she would be the only other person who would come back, maybe then it would be quick, like pulling a trigger of a gun rather than slicing away with a sword.

He smiled sadly at that, he knew his friends, some of the people at NERV, his guardian, and he knew they would come back. Shinji looked to the sky and then back to the red sea; he took a lung full of LCL filled air. Shinji thought about all the things he had experienced and all the things he wanted to see, feel, taste, smell, hear and sense and realised that for others to have those he would have to give up his desires, his own chance at a normal life.

Shinji chuckled directly into a miserable sob. Karma, that was it, he had made a choice regardless of the consequences and now he had to take responsibility, he wanted everyone to escape a false heaven to live in a dead earth and he fought in a real hell.

He chose to believe that was what he deserved, considering how is inefficiency took many lives during the ANGEL attacks, his ignorance and selfishness during the final battle, his defilement and strangulation of Asuka and his weakness to save her during the events that led up to instrumentality.

He had to admit he was a different kind of fucked up to be able to pull all that off and still believe he deserved more.

"But they deserve even more" He said to himself, referring to humanity, nations of people, the people of japan, NERV, his fellow colleagues, his friends, Kensuke, Toji, Hikari, his guardians, Kaji and Misato and…Her.

That was a lie, he had no idea what they deserved but he did have a pretty good idea on what they did not deserve and hell was one of them. Not for the first time he wondered what life would have been like if he was more outgoing, more of a man, as Asuka and Toji would say. What it would be like if he took charge around Asuka, kissed her when he felt like it, made her cook for him, fought like a warrior instead of a wimp manipulated into his situation.

It was all ifs and buts really, things that would never be and things he was not sure he really wanted. Shinji wanted to be respected, to treat others as you expect to be treated. He wanted to be left alone most of the time with a few acknowledgments of his existence and he would do the same to others. No one could get hurt, get too close to be hurt, a relationship could be made, harmless with little investments. It was what he wanted but not needed. He needed Asuka to constantly berate him about his inadequacies even if some were over the top. Why, because he liked it, it was that simple. He needed Misato so he could take care of her. Why, because he liked feeling productive, valuable. He needed his friends to constantly badger him to do things like egg windows or search for great porn sites. Why, to feel part of the whole.

What he did not need was the thing standing behind him, the best it could do for him was earn him a simple 'Good work, Shinji'. That's right, save the fucking world more than a few times, fight monsters that could eliminate a nation with one shot, suffer inhumane pain only achievable through Eva, to be hit for trying your best in a machine you did not want to even pilot and practically get pissed on when you try to leave it all, and for what? Good work, Shinji, good work, Shinji! No money, no celebration, no star status, he was not even treated better and he did it time after time for nothing but a "Good-fucking-work, Shinji!" Was that really enough, could it ever be enough, when he had sacrificed so much and got so little in return, was it enough?

Yeah…, it was.

Shinji broke out laughing with tears falling down to the sand. Say what you want about religion deities and the afterlife but right now, Shinji really needed a God to pray to because his life was almost the best joke a human could live.

Shinji clasped his hands together for the second time in his life and the first time he could remember. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. To anyone who knows what the last year has been like for Shinji, specifically the last 24 hours, one might find themselves laughing at the irony and the absurdity of an ANGEL killer and, if you include whatever Rei became and instrumentality, a god killer and rejecter, praying.

"I'm not sure if anyone is really up there and I know I don't deserve this, but I want to ask something from you. I know its horrendous that I only call in a time of need but I always felt you never cared, no one cared, but even I'm here about to fight against something that should never be." His bottom lip trembled at his future but he carried on. "I want two things actually, the first thing is for you to take care of my friends, I'm sorry to admit that I really couldn't care for humanity as a whole but I'm not you so it's impossible for me to know them all even with, whatever that was I was in. The second thing is that you give me the strength to right two wrongs, one humans committed with this mind hive thing and the other being my choice." Shinji opened his eyes for a long time, sensing his time was running short and the fact the Eva had kneeled down as some type of prompt.

Shinji stood up and continued "I'm not sure if you were ever there for us but even if you were, we, us, humans got us into the mess we are in now, not some devil or monster or angel, humans, and we have to answer for that." Shinji could imagine Asuka saying something like 'look at you trying to sound all adult and wise' which was true but this required nothing less.

"Thank you," were his finishing words, though, he did not know who he was thanking, the gods, his friends who had been part of his life, Asuka, NERV, humanity, Misato or the Eva that was waiting for him so they could make a trip into a type of hell he may never survive, or worse, escape?

He did not care whether there was a god or if he was just talking to a figment of his imagination, like that black shadowy figure that had informed him of the Homunculi born from his choice that he had to fight. It did not matter, he needed to ask for help and whether he got it or his imagination made him believe he got it was irrelevant. He just needed to create something to rely on, some form of support for the coming times.

Shinji could feel the coming distortion of time and space like nature was becoming twisted, grotesque, and unnatural.

Time would not wait forever, though, after everything he had been through, it really should.

He moved a hand up to his left cheek where Asuka had touched him, it was still warm, and he could almost feel her sinfully soft skin against his rough skin. It was amazing how she had a way to make you feel like dirt from toughest of punches to the softest of caresses, it was almost unnatural.

Perhaps, if he ever came back, he would try to go further, when they were older and knew who they wanted to be, when they both understood what they wanted to be. He had a crush on her, yes, but he would be content with being distant friends if that was all he could get and that was all he wanted, to feel contentment.

Shinji stood there watching Asuka as he and the Evangelion started to fade away like the winds, becoming transparent until they were gone, just as the morning light peeked over the horizon, it would be some time before Shinji ever stood on the earth again.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Asuka stood over a basin as she poured water for the 98th time through a filter and into the basin, showing off clear blue water, you'd never believe it was red with LCL and blood this morning. There was now enough clean water in the dugout basin for a dozen people thanks to the help of Eri, a mute girl a year younger than she and Austin, a tourist who could not speak a lick of Japanese but was very good at his English. Asuka had yet to establish where he was touring from and he had yet to remember. Austin was a tall quiet blonde hair blue eyed man, but he was a doer, not a leader and he was fine with that.

Asuka was thankful as the other two talked too much, almost as much as herself and she could not stand anyone with a bigger mouth than herself. Both were female and both were twins, just not to each other, and both disliked Asuka. Regardless they understood who was in control around here and they did what they were told, they just did not do it quietly, which, in Asuka's case, was not silent. She had sent them off to get more purifier for the water and more canned food.

It had been more than a week since 3rd impact and there were already a dozen people back including Kodama, Hikari's older sister who was, thankfully, a nurse and her knowledge was key to their survival and how they prioritised resources.

Asuka looked up at sudden ringing from a bell. The sound emanated from a beach tower not too far away that Asuka had put a middle schooler in. The frequency of people coming from the sea was rising and Asuka needed someone to keep an eye open just in case anyone came back outside of her notice.

The middle schooler hit the bell once, north, and then a pause before striking again, northeast, before hitting it very lightly, in shallow water. It was a little code they had thought up due to the fact that the camp and the beach tower were outside shouting range. It was also important so other human groups did not get to them first.

The growl of a bike could be heard and Asuka and the other two helping to purify the water watched as Toji shot over the hill separating the beach from the city and landed on the sound with a nullified crash. Toji pressed a button on the bike before the wheels deflated into spikes that caught traction and allowed the bike to manoeuvre across the sand and towards the Rebirther.

Toji had come back in good spirits a day after Asuka, for more than one reason. His injuries were healed, his arms and legs were fine and his spirits were even higher as his sister had skipped along beside him in good health. Thankfully, Kodama had come back with them along with a comatose Hikari. It was a joyful and depressing moment for all.

Hikari had awoken on the second day for a brief moment before falling unconscious again. Kodama had suggested a possible case of narcolepsy due to rapid emergences of REM sleep. Kodama had not seemed worried at the time, believing it may not be permanent but for some reason that had only increased Asuka's worries.

Asuka had to admit, Toji had been a good addition, for two reasons. The first being, he was good muscle. That jock physique and Osaka accent made him seem like a tough bastard and a gangsta, even more so after finding the multi-environment motorcycle. He even wore a dark blue and white head band with extended tails. The second reason was his energy, an energy that made you want to get shit done, an energy that had rivalled her own. It had sparked some rival energy between them that had made them work twice as hard.

She watched as Toji swerved close to the person and jumped off with delight. She angled her head in curiosity as Toji swung the person in a hug. Her heart thumped for a moment before it fell a bit at the reflection of light coming of the person's glasses.

Kensuke, it had to be him, for a moment she thought it was Shinji. It was not as if she was unhappy that Kensuke had come back, she did not love the stooge but a familiar face was a familiar face. Hopefully Kensuke could help her with some of the fried electronics the EMP burst from third impact had incurred.

Asuka stood up and dusted off her plug suit before walking off to a small camp made of rubble that was in the shape of semi-circle open towards the sea. There were people their kneeling down working on electrical equipment that had been brought back from the city. The progress had been slow due to the lack of useable scraps and equipment to create and repair circuits. Asuka had put out an order to everyone who went off into the city to bring back a welder if they found one.

"How's it going?" She enquired to the group of four women and two men. It seemed more women than men were coming back from third impact and, as much as she hated to admit it, they needed more man power. Besides, the women seemed to have an attitude problem or something because they were frequently more uncooperative and questioning of her orders. The men just shut and got it done.

One of the 'technicians' from a university looked her over with lecherous eyes before looking back down. "We got one phone working but it won't be much good without some form of network hub and antenna, third impact took out everything we had in orbit,"

Asuka frowned, she had not considered that and she began rubbing her bottom lip with two fingers. The two guys had to fight to keep their eyes on their work and not her lips. "Walky-talkies short wave radios?" She suggested.

One of the girls raised a knife while she struggled with something inside the radio she was working on. "I put a notice on the 'Runner's board' A Runner named Hiro took it and went into the city." The girl informed lowering her knife to start scraping at some burnt out circuits.

The 'Runner's board' was something Asuka had thought of when people started to argue about what was needed. Asuka had got the few men around to pick up a slab of concrete and place it in a standing position so its smooth surface could be used to place notes onto, someone had found yellow sticky notes and now requests could be placed for runners. The Runners were the individuals who had no particular skills to contribute to advance their survival and so they offered themselves to manual labour or, in this case, taking trips into the city to find resources and requests.

Asuka had priority requests, meaning the notice board requests were secondary objectives and her own were primary objectives. Thankfully, all of the runners were men so she never had to worry about an argument and they wasted less time, they could usually go through one to three runs a day.

She turned around at the sound of an approaching bike and watched as Toji pulled up with Kensuke riding on the edge of the seat. "I offer another soul to you, she-devil" He said with the most noble accent he could put on, which sounded like he was itching for a fight rather than being mockingly submissive.

Kensuke was in a daze as he looked around at the sky and then his hands, classic symptoms of someone going through a reality check. People do that after the first few days of coming back, after waking up one will go through the motions of checking whether or not they were in the real world. Checking of hands, inflicting pain on oneself, aimless walking and even social checks like revealing things that, in the false world, would be fine but in the real world would garner odd looks or even a punch to the face.

Asuka snapped her fingers in front of Kensuke while moving them side to side. Kensuke followed them sluggishly before Asuka suddenly backhanded him, knocking him off the bike.

"Holy shit!" Toji exclaimed in shock, "Did…did you just _pimp_ slap him?" Toji was bewildered by the injustice done to his friend who just stood back up now looking back to himself.

"Where's Shinji?" Kensuke asked a second before regretting it. Asuka and Toji's faces fell and neither looked each other in the eye. Kensuke looked down crestfallen before looking back up with a reassuring smile. "Shinji was always a late guy, I'm sure he'll show up eventually,"

Asuka sent Kensuke a look that asked him if knew anything about Shinji. If there was anybody in the universe that would prefer to stay in a dream world rather than the real one, it was going to be Shinji. He almost deserved to stay in there, for better or worse.

Asuka still pondered the last dream she had before coming back. It was a dream of Shinji strangling her, it had felt so real, even the tears after she had touched his cheek and he had fallen apart. It had almost sent her mad, her throat had still hurt after the incident, if it were not for Kodama informing her of her mind trying to make dream a reality using her body as a medium she may still be going through a reality check even now.

She still had a doubt as to whether or not that was a dream or not, it seemed so unlike Shinji that it seemed more like something he would eventually do, especially after how she had treated him. Still, if had come back, where did he go to? She knew Shinji well enough that he would never leave her, he just would not, no matter what would happen between them, no matter how much time could change them, he would not just leave her on the beach.

"Anyway, Aida, you're a tech head, right?" She said more as a statement rather than in question.

Kensuke looked up with a sheepish smile and scratched his head. Asuka had never liked Kensuke's smiles and for the life of her she could not figure out why. There was something so… dishonest about it, like it was his way of hiding behind something, though, oddly enough, Shinji had something similar about his smiles.

"Yeah, I guess you could call it that," He said glancing around which caused Asuka to grind her teeth. "Why, do you need me for something?"

That was it; Shinji smiled for other people rather than for himself, Kensuke did it almost purely for himself. She had to wonder why she was comparing the two, now of all times.

"Well, the last impact set off an EMP of sorts. All working electrical equipment got fried so were trying to get it repaired." She gestured towards the group of six working behind her who raised a hand or two in recognition. "Our number one priority is creating a form of communication and working radio, they are try to make some form-"

"Yeah, a Hub of some kind, we could make a dish as our network that we could use for mass interlinking." He cut her off and unknowingly putting himself on her blacklist.

One of the girls looked up questioningly. "But what could we link to the hub, walky-talkies?"

Kensuke looked at the girl "We could use our own phones, they have a circuit breaker in case of EMP due to the A.T fields the Evangelion and ANGELS put out having similar effects. So we just have to replace that and besides, all phones have an emergency short wave linker in their power cells so we already have short wave radios." He said moving towards a table with a phone. He took the casing off the phone and showed everyone a burnt out circuit with a red label connected to it. He ripped off the label showing another circuit connected underneath. "The labels made out in zinc, all you have to do is remove the circuit breaker connected to the label and then rub the label over the new circuit which should make it live." He followed his own instructions, placed the casing back on the phone and they all watched surprised as the phone powered up.

"Shiiiiiit, Street soldier, I'm glad we got you back." Toji said with a mixture of pride and relief. They had really needed some sort of breakthrough, both for their physical survival and their mental health. "I'll leave you to kick ass here, I'm going back on patrol to find a gas station." Toji said hopping on his bike and speeding off.

Kensuke seemed put off by his friends sudden departure and Asuka quickly stepped in. "Trust me, he's going away more for you than himself, you'll need the time to think, find your own pace and all that." Again, Asuka did not really like the two stooges( that felt wrong to say, it should be three) but she did understand the reasoning for Toji's departure. Everyone was still getting adjusted, to reality, adjusted to a life with boundaries, a world where if you did something wrong you could not just reverse time and do it all over again. It was a choice they all made to leave the false universe and come to their own, a choice some regretted.

Asuka sad down for a moment and pulled out a canteen and looked it over. There was text on it, in English;

**Recognise the past; survive in the present, fight for the future.**

They were hard hitting words for Asuka, and she could not accept some of the meanings they could inspire. She had detested her past and now it had been altered. The discovery of her mother's sanity resting inside Eva 02 had been tear jerking but there was also the fact that NERV had kept this a secret. Someone had to have known, they knew about Eva unit 01 and Yui Ikari and the requirements of the Evangelion, so someone had to have known.

Asuka had not used instrumentality as a means of escape, to create her own universe of no wrongs and nothing but rights. No, Asuka had used the soul like unity of every individual as a network and created a world like search engine, sifting through everyone related to her mother, to Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu. She was surprised by the amount of people who had a connection with her mother, especially the male connections; it seemed her father's quick movement to another was not so heartless after all.

The connection she had wanted was finally made, and it tore her heart apart. He was the closest thing to her one greatest ally she could ever obtain, so much so that she was still giving him the benefit of the doubt. He must have had his reasons, but honestly, looking at the results of synch rate after finding out the truth of unit 02, it boggled her why he would hold back. Did he really not think that knowing her mother was fighting alongside would raise her synch rate? Did he think she would be less motivated, shocked, hurt, and betrayed? 

She was not sure if he ever would come back of if he even could, all she did know was that their relationship would forever be jaded and grey.

Survive in the present, eh? That was what she was doing now, increasing her survival rate, not from the elements, but from her fellow man. She was not naïve; she knew the world would be like a global wild west, no law, no order, everyone fighting for resources of every kind. It was already beginning, a group that did not want to listen to a foreign red headed child had come and gone and started their own survival group north of their position, picking up anyone who came from the beach down there.

She was not worried about them, they were violent, and to resort to violence is to exhibit a lack of control, intelligence, unity and security, things Asuka had established and was building upon. Asuka herself would have fought of a more violent path if she did not consider the final words on the canteen.

**Fight for the future.**

It seemed cliché and overused but it was appropriate. Systems based around senseless violence was more like a primordial soup; it was archaic and built around a system that had to force unity than naturally keep it. It was a system that brings about its own destruction out of necessity rather than choice. They would realise that people wanted a more fair system, a system they were familiar with, something that they would not mind living the rest of their lives with.

Asuka recognised what she was doing was not selfless but rather, aimless. She was doing something natural to her, something easy. She had a knack for utilizing people effectively, prioritising, and problem solving and never letting a situation get ahead of her. These natural leadership abilities appealed to those lost, those who were reliant and those who wanted to shrug away responsibility.

There was something cowardly about it. At least, she thought it was cowardly, as much as she took heed of the words; to fight for a future seemed to stray away from the choice, the responsibility of deciding what that future was. She did not want to recognise her loss of purpose; fighting the angels in the Evangelions. Every time she began to consider it something dark and heavy would settle upon her, it was like… it was like a sense of dread, of inevitable doom that she could not escape.

Asuka sighed and rubbed her forehead in vexation. She would never be caught dead admitting this but she needed support. She would not say something stupid like; _oh, I'm only thirteen, I'm a child, I need help' _Asuka Langley Soryu was a woman who superseded age and the leniencies that came with it. She was not an adult, true, but she was responsible and weakness, especially in front of others, in her books, was irresponsible.

"You look cute when you brood," a voice said teasingly.

Asuka gaped at the ground before slowly turning her tearing eyes up to the face of her smiling guardian. Misato looked the same as ever, her hair was a little unkempt and she was sporting a black eye, but apart from that she looked as, again, never be caught dead saying it, cool as ever.

"Wh-what's with the black eye?" She said trying to maintain composure of her voice.

Misato rolled her eyes and looked behind her at twenty some people who had come with her. Asuka recognised some of the faces, they were the people who had left her survival team for the one down the beach, in fact, this was the group at the northern end of the beach!

"These guys were talking very badly about my cute little charge so I had to rough'em up a bit. Not bad going for only coming out of the sea not thirty minutes ago." She then turned back to Asuka. "Now, then" She held her arms out and even though it was her invitation she was surprised at the speed in which Asuka embraced her. She threw he head back sharply at the people behind her to signal for them to go away.

Asuka relaxed into the hug once they had gone. In all honesty, Asuka was streaming tears in Misato's shirt. She was doing everything in her power to stop herself wailing, so much so that the strength required left her legs and Misato quickly sunk with her to the floor softly stroking her hair while tightening her hold on her.

Misato had made sure to shield her weak charge from the others. She understood Asuka's personality and her abilities. From what the northern group had said she was a leader of some sort and a tough one at that. However, Misato knew Asuka was no leader, not in action but in spirit. She understand the weaknesses Asuka could not show anyone but she also understood that Asuka was too young to have created an outlet for her worries and anxieties and according to the Northern group, she had been at this for over a week straight after third impact.

It was amazing she had not broken already.

Asuka's muffled sobs had decreased to sniffles and she slowly pulled back from Misato, rubbing her face and averting her eyes. She glanced up at Misato briefly before muttering "Thanks,"

Misato pulled her into a hug with a soft smile "No problem" She said, this time in Engrish.

Asuka had to fight off the smile that appeared on her face before she broke off into laughter which was quickly followed by Misato's own laughter. Everyone in the vicinity had looked around at that, simply because it was the first sound of genuine laughter anyone had heard since Rebirth, hell, it could be the first genuine laugh throughout the globe. There was something very … human about it, something that made one realise they were truly alive that they had made the right choice in coming back.

The people started to glance at one another with genuine smiles, it was infectious, smiling, it was so good, and then the sound of more laughter, this time triumphant. There was more and more, Kensuke pumped his fist and directed his laugh towards the heavens. It was a laugh that could only be described as one of life.

It was a laugh that was not simply one of voice, it was felt, the feeling of your entire being shivering with life, pulsing with pride, a feeling that made you wish you could smile wider because you could not smile wide enough. A feeling that made you jump and close your eyes to concentrate on nothing but that power, that pride of being human, being alive, just existing.

All the people resonating on the beach; Asuka, Kensuke, Toji, Kodama, the Runners, the techies, the northerners, the people coming out of the sea, all of them could only sum up the feeling in one way. Even though they all had their own worries, their own faults, their own trials both now and in the future.

For better or for worse; it was damn good to be alive.


	2. The Scuffle

**The Scuffle**

Asuka watched as four men including Toji pushed a car off the road and towards the street. The car screeched and groaned in protest at being moved in way it was not supposed to, putting a tough fight despite its minimised, and thusly, small size. The men were pushing it from the left side of the car and Asuka had to shake her head at the stupidity of trying to push a two tonne plus car with every frictional force working against them.

Asuka looked behind her at the few hundred people behind her, their numbers running down the length of the road under the shadow of tilting and bent buildings and skyscrapers. Asuka could not blame them for frequently looking up towards the large structures at any sound that might indicate their fall. It took quite a bit of conscious effort on even Asuka's part not to look up; she knew the physics involved with such a scenario as the buildings falling down on them. It was actually, as unbelievable as it sounded, unlikely that the buildings would ever fall without extreme force to the correct structural points that would weaken the integrity to produce such a collapse. It would take nature itself and a dozen hurricanes and earthquakes at least fifty years before making the man-made structures fall to the ever present force gravity.

Someone behind her grumbled to themselves about the hold up and Asuka almost had to agree if it were not for the fact of all the stretchers and other forms of mobility for the injured and elderly. It was only two weeks ago since Misato had come back from the 'Sea of Rebirth', as it was now called, which was like opening some flood gates to the people stuck in instrumentality as dozens upon dozens had been coming in daily. A surprising number, of which, were NERV staff or those affiliated to it and many were willing, even expecting, to follow Misato's lead.

There were a few problems, however, and none Misato had a real good way to solve. Asuka was a different story and was genuinely surprised at how hard people searched for answer on how to survive or what to do next or how to do it. Being realistic, Asuka had known that simply telling the people what to do would most likely get her nowhere, adults did not like being told what to do by a kid, kids did not like being told what to do by another kid and most of the women there found her appearance provoking. Instead, she acted like a lieutenant for Misato, offering advice or solutions to problems, the most pressing of which, was resources.

Asuka had suggested moving the NERV employees and their families down to NERV in the Geo-front, below ground. The beach was becoming packed and this meant communication and movement was being diminished to almost non-existent. If that had been allowed to continue they would have degenerated into a people who only spoke with violence and threats to try and secure safety, they would shatter. The movement to the Geo-front would also give them access to a huge wealth of technology and tools to begin rebuilding of homes and facilities.

The plan was simple, move to the Geo-front via the fourth main street, the widest street in Tokyo and built to accommodate Evangelions, and head towards the C-22 Special Express Train for Sengokuhara Underground Central Station that would take them down into the Geo-front and straight into NERV. This would give them a safe place to sleep and a facility to run and rebuild, something to do, a goal.

Asuka looked ahead at the men as they had moved the car an amazing… two inches. It is amazing what the human body could do.

"Okay, that's enough," Asuka started and the men stopped to look at her with quizzical look before glancing over at the irritated and paranoid people who were occasionally glancing around at the buildings. Asuka pointed a finger towards the driver's seat and then tail end of the car. "Someone get in the driver's seat and steer the car towards the side of the rode, the rest will push." She placed her hand onto her hip, waited before throwing out her hands to the side in question.

The men blushed and Toji ran towards the front of the car, got into the driver's seat behind the wheel and turned the wheel in the direction of the street to his right and the people behind watched as the car was pushed rather easily off the road and onto the street within a matter of seconds. The men moved away from the vehicle and looked impressed with themselves before they met the looks of the peeved NERV staff, friends and families.

Asuka shook her head and grabbed a silver whistle tied around her neck and gave three powerful blows, the signal to continue. She watched as the people stood up and became a lot more animated, having been kept waiting for some fifteen minutes, even those off into the distance suddenly became more animated. The sound of human life moving as one for a single purpose relaxed Asuka in some way; perhaps it reminded her of synchronising with Eva, controlling the power it held, telling it when to move or stop. Perhaps, the people following her and Misato were like that, a replacement of that lost power…or were it lost responsibility?

Walking be herself, Asuka sped up once she noticed Misato waving her hand at her before gesturing to further down the road where the concrete had been lifted and sunken and snapped as the sewage system underneath had been ruptured. Asuka moved towards a higher position by climbing a ladder up to a platform that was connected to an apartment complex to try and get a better view. She put two fingers into her mouth and blew twice and glanced down as someone ran towards her before throwing her a pair of binoculars up towards her position.

She caught them and quickly looked over towards the hazard zone with a grim face before snapping her fingers three times. A young woman moved towards Asuka's position with a red, white and green backpack. Asuka had found an Evangelion unit 02 model backpack in one of the shopping centres during the initial stage of the move, the discovery having angered her as she had been promised royalties for any product sporting unit 02's decals or just its pattern. Of course, she had filled it with things that would make her journey easier as well as navigational devices to help with the migration.

The girl threw the bag up to Asuka with all her might but the pack was just too heavy. Asuka watched with a mixture of horror and annoyance as the backpack, full of breakable equipment, fell back down to the ground only to be caught by Makoto Hyuga who quickly threw the bag up to Asuka. Asuka caught it easily but she was very surprised to see him, she had not known he had come back.

Makoto nodded to her with a small smile and she returned it, sans smile, before she reached into her backpack and pulled out a map. The hazard was directly after the ninth junction but fortunately there was a shopping mall they could pass through with a roundabout staircase that had a mechanism that could turn the steps to form a smooth plain for wheelchair access.

She pulled out a notepad with a red pen holstered through the loops keeping the sheets together. She quickly wrote detailed but simple instructions for Misato to read so she would understand where to divert the people.

"Bridge bunny!" she called to Makoto who was talking with Kensuke and Toji. She waved the notepad to express her needs for his attention. He moved towards her, below the platform, and held his hands up in a way to show he was prepared to capture the notepad. She dropped it and he caught it quickly noting the red text on the notepad 'for the drunkard's eyes only'. He burst out laughing before nodding his head and running off towards Misato.

Asuka watched from her position as Makoto entered an exposed building and climbed up the stairs to the second floor. She smiled softly at Misato's shocked expression surrounded by some of the higher ranked NERV staff and almost giggled as Misato tackled him to the ground in a warm hug. Asuka had to keep in mind that she should not tell Makoto that Misato reacted that way to practically anyone. Misato read the note after composing herself, looked over to Asuka and then gave her a thumbs up which Asuka returned.

Misato then informed her runners on where they were going and what to tell the scouters as well as the route leaders. They quickly left the room and went downstairs to get to work relaying their messages with a mixture of excitement and seriousness.

Asuka was slightly envious at their enthusiasm but she was learning to ignore it. It seemed she was changing for better or worse, at least in this aspect. Still, she missed Shinji. That was it, she just missed him, and there was no special meaning in that, she just missed his presence. When Shinji was around she could understand where she stood in the world, it was like he was the moon and she was the sun, she was the light and he was the shadow, her voice his echo, his calm her storm.

To an extent, they were soul mates, not in the mushi-mushi bullshit love way, just in a… indescribable way, she just felt right, complete, when he was there. Every time she would go out with friends, fight in Eva, go out on trips or anything that did not involve him, she would become drained, physically but more importantly, mentally and emotionally. When she got back home and found his half smile, his back to her cooking her food or just him watching TV, she would deflate and allow the tension to leave her and allow him just too…exist with her. It was not until much later that she began to realise that he was becoming more and more of an addiction and not one she was sure she wanted.

She sighed and looked down as the human herd passed below her on their way to the alternative route. She wondered what he was dreaming of in Instrumentality, was he with an imaginary Asuka or an Imaginary Rei. Was the fake better than the real thing or did he just make completely new characters up instead. She chewed on her bottom lip in frustration, why the fuck would he stay in that fake little paradise when he could be down here making her feel better, she had only made the final push to comeback because she was adamant he would be back as well. She thought he was calling her, calling her back to reality, she could have been weak if had come back, she had even promised to go easier on him.

"That fucking bastard," She cursed him while shedding a tear of frustration, her fist balling as her mind's eye was focused on that kiss they had shared. She licked her lips slowly trying to imagine the taste of him, catching her tear in the process. She sat down on the platform as her body started to heat up at the memory of their lips. She envisioned a slightly different version, one where they would smash their lips against one another; he would grab her and force her back into the wall, holding her hands above her head as he had his way with.

Asuka suddenly stood up and shook her head before looking down at her erect nipples and shaking her head. Now was most definitely not the time, she had to begin moving with the rest if she wanted to make sure everyone got to NERV before dark. Two months ago she would have thought the memory revolting and the person kissing her even more so.

It is funny how we only miss things once they are gone.

X X X X X X X X X X

Toji Suzuhara was, like most of the people walking through the mall, taking as much stuff as he could carry. He was currently in a pawn shop to get back the money had to pay back for his loan and to see what kind of treasury the pawn shop owner had stocked up. He had left his bike outside with four of his 'assistance' who were mounted on their own bikes, his little biker group.

In all honesty, Toji never cared for being part of any gang; he just remembered what it felt like when he rode with his dad when he was young. The screech of tires, the slicing wind in his face forcing him to squint his eyes, the roar of the engine and the warmth of his father's back. Toji had decided early on, before his father's death to illness, that the first thing he rode on would be a bike. Sure, he was legally too young to be riding a bike, but not only did he have a lot of experience with motorcycles, but there also the fact that nobody cared. Tokyo-3 was designed to accommodate cars not motorcycles which also meant that people learning to drive a bike, let alone actually riding on a motorcycle, was astronomically low. That meant not that many people were willing to contest his bike riding simply because it was a commodity that was surprisingly useful, resourceful unlike its electronic powered car counterpart, as well as efficient.

Toji looked towards the entrance of the shop as the door chimed while Kensuke walked in, looking the shop over curiously before an evil smirk graced his face at the thought of the secrets the building held.

"Yo," He waved to Toji who looked back down at the money register with a light smile. "Don't tell me your looking for cash; you know that stuff is practically valueless now, right?"

Toji crouched to look underneath the desk the register was on and smiled triumphantly to find a key taped to the underside of the desk. He ripped it off and lifted the key into the air with a little shake. "My uncle used to tape things under places he used a lot, like under his flower pots or TV," He informed.

Kensuke looked doubtful, "So, I guess that's why he never had anything taped down under any of his mirrors or brake pedal in his car?" Kensuke shivered slightly at the unpleasant memory.

"Hell no, my uncle isn't like that," Toji admonished folding his arms and sticking his chin up. He closed one eye while using other to glance down at Kensuke. "Besides, my uncle removed his brake pedal, really men use their handbrake!" Toji pointed a thumb at his chest and Kensuke could only shake his head with a defeated smile.

"So, what's the key for?" Kensuke asked gesturing at the key in Toji's left hand. Toji displayed a blank expression before moving the key up to his face for close inspection.

"Chi fourteen…" He read the kanji and numbers off the key, stared at the key blankly for a few more seconds before looking up at Kensuke for answers.

Kensuke had his left arm folded under his chest while the elbow of his right arm rested on his left hand as his balanced his chin on his right fist. His face was scrunched up, a classic Kensuke thinking pose. Kensuke's face started to turn sideways whilst he kept his eyes locked on the key; this meant Kensuke was getting close to figuring it out. His face straightened and lit up, he lifted his head and the index finger on his clenched fist stood up. "A locker key and a blood locker key at that!"

Toji tilted his head slightly in question before glancing down to the key. "This some key to a blood pack or something?" He asked, re-examining the key.

Kensuke shook his head with an overly confident smile; Kensuke did this when he knew something someone else did not. "The blood lockers are notorious for being a front for storing things other than blood, usually really important stuff, still, they do have their fair use of drug trafficking but it couldn't hurt to look."

Toji nodded and pocketed the key just before one of his assistance slammed open the door. "Toji, we got a situation, a gang isn't letting the people through, Misato and Asuka need help!" Toji glanced at Kensuke who looked worried before nodding to his assistant.

They bolted out of the door and onto the bikes, Kensuke volunteered to catch up on foot. Toji and the four other bikers revved their engines and sped off through the mall and round an ascending pathway to the second level, they switched on a repeating beat to make known their presence to the people up ahead who parted ways but looked distressed that the group had to use it, it usually meant a lot of trouble.

The group zoomed towards a descending escalator and Toji sped over it and landed hard, closely followed by his bike team, one taking the stairs with regret at the bumpy ride down. The section was a lot thicker with people but they quickly moved out of the way once they heard the hard beat and roaring engines with mixture of relief and trepidation etched across their faces. Toji could see Asuka, Misato and some NERV staff standing in front of a group of twelve or so men with bats and pipes with a few women in the back. They were blocking the path to another spiral pathway, this one descending with a long balcony overlooking the ground floor.

The obvious leader was checking Asuka out as he talked down to the NERV group. They all looked up when Toji and his bikers pulled up, Toji hopping off his bike without turning it off. The leader laughed along with his group at Toji who, though tall for his age and muscular, still looked like a kid while the other bikers' ages ranged from sixteen to twenty five. The bandit group blocking their path had an age range of probably seventeen to late thirties. Toji was in no way deterred and neither were his bikers.

"You guys got a fucking problem?" Toji asked the leader before glancing to Misato and Asuka. Misato gave him subtle shake of her head and Asuka simply frowned.

The leader chuckled before glancing at his friends who looked on amusedly. "Yeah, we've got a problem, you little shit," He sneered at Toji, "This is our turf and if you want to get pass you have to pay a little fee…" He smirked before glancing at Asuka and Misato.

Toji tilted his head, "What kind of fee?" He asked not liking where this was going.

The leader leaned in with his stinky breath, Toji did not even flinch, he just stared him dead in the eye. "You give us all your water and food or you use your bodies to pay us off." He leaned back and turned his head so he was addressing both his party and the NERV group. "Of course, the kind of workout the men and women will be getting will be slightly different, huhahah." He and his group snickered as the leader glanced over Asuka in her plug suit and Misato appreciatively.

Toji glanced over, once again, to Misato and Asuka who had identical looks of distaste while some of the NERV staff stepped in front of the women protectively. Toji looked back with a frown at the now laughing group.

Toji had initially wanted to try and assimilate the group into their own, they could really use the manpower, and he meant that literally. The ratio of men to women was two to eight, out of the some two hundred people migrating to NERV HQ there were only a little more than thirty of the male gender. Toji was not sexist…well, not strictly, he believed there were things men were meant to do and not do and he never applied the same concept to women. The problem was that the world had suddenly lost its diplomacy, its speech before violence mentality, making it a more physically violent and demanding environment and most of the women were city girls, they were not brought up to withstand such situations.

Ever since rebirth, the rape rate had climbed, the physical abuses rampant and might makes right metaility had settled in across japan. The beach group had been firm in keeping the standards and morality they had been brought up in, however, sticks, stones and fists could break bones but words could not hurt anyone. They held little power now outside of the NERV group and sometimes violence was the only way to make someone back off, to defend their friends and families. One guy could equal a dozen city girls in a normal fight and these guys were armed.

"Come on, ladies, me so horny!" the leader broke out laughing as he rubbed his growing erection, a few of members licking their lips while tapping their weapons against their bodies or against the floor, one simulated sexual thrusting with his bat.

Asuka looked disinterested while Misato accidentally giggled, this is turn changed the laughs and smiles of the leering men into masks of disapproval and the offended. Toji frowned at the groups antics.

Toji cracked his knuckles and then popped his neck before giving a sideways thumb down. His bike group got off their bikes to stand beside Toji. The leader of the offending group gave a mocking laugh as he turned to look behind his back at his fellow bandits before turning to only receive a right hook that lifted him off his feet. The following left hook ripped up the insides of the man's cheeks and blood splattered out of his mouth and onto the marble floor.

The leader shook his head as he began to get his wits enough to send Toji a look of fury which quickly changed into a look of pain as Toji came up with an uppercut. The uppercut straightened the bandit leader's legs enough for Toji to stomp out at the knees with enough force to snap the left one inwards. The sound was teeth bearing and the bandit leader barely had enough time to register the pain before Toji cupped his hands together and brought it down on the bandits head with all the force he could muster.

The bandit leader swore he could hear another snap as his head hit the floor followed by a scream. The bandit leader was kicked in the side turning him onto his back, his eyes scrunched up in pain. He opened his just in time to watch the heel of Toji's boot slam down onto his face, smashing his nose and tearing out blood and exposed bone. He watched as Toji rested his entire weight onto the foot he stamped down on his before he jumped off his head and came down, this time, with both heels and his full 140 pounds on to the bandit leaders face. This pulverised his jaw and fractured his skull while the onlookers watched as several teeth were sent flying out of his mouth. Even the observers watched in shock and surprise as Toji jumped again and came down finally with metal protected knee caps. The explosion of blood and the multiple sounds of breaking bones pressed beyond their limit echoed down the hall, it was a very wet sound...

Satisfied with the man lying on the floor, who would be waking up with more than a slight headache later, Toji turned his attention to the other eleven, or more like five. Two were a bloody mess off to the side while his four biker members worked on four others, their weapons lying off to the side. The remaining five looked shocked and flinched as Toji ran towards them, picking up a metal baseball bat as he went. He swung the bat into the legs of a man wearing goggles and heard the sound of multiple fractures as the man fell to his knees in a dazed pain before Toji wound up and sent homerun powered swing straight into the man's goggles. The man's face just suddenly burst into blood like Toji had hit a sack of blood, reminding Toji of the key in the process. Part of the goggles went flying off his face as well as teeth as the bandits blood covered head hit the floor with a wet crash.

One of the others cried out in fury only to be tackled to the ground by one of Toji's Bikers. Toji threw the metal bat at one of the last bandits and it hit him in the head to allow Toji a small window to bring a hammer fist crashing down into the side of the bandits head, knocking him off balance. Toji spun in the opposite direction to hit the bandit with a 360 back fist that ripped up the bandit's lips. Toji then came back with a vicious haymaker that almost dropped the thug before Toji grabbed him by the hair and sent three metal covered knee shots tothe bandits face producing a fountain of blood to spill onto the floor with each strike.

Toji let the man drop to the floor before taken a dozen steps back. The man looked up incuriosity through the pain in surprise as Toji had backed off unexpectedly. The bandits face turned into horror as Toji ran up and soccer kicked him into a standing position! The man stood there in mental shock, half conscious before looking down one last time as Toji ran up and dropped kicked him the head launching him through a reinforced glass telephone booth.

Toji watched as the last Bandit got his face slammed into the wall multiple times, turning that section a bloody red. The bandit slid to the floor before the bike picked him up into a standing position and threw hm off the balcony to land into a glass statute in shower of blood and glass. The sound of smashing glass signalled the end of the little scuffle, as Toji viewed it, and they watched as the bandits' girls decided to get the fuck out of dodge.

Toji and the bikers turned back to look at the NERV migrators to be faced with shocked, horrified and awed expressions. Kensuke was standing beside Misato with a pretty relaxed expression considering what had just seen.

"Jesus somersaulting Christmas…." Makoto spoke for practically every witness of the carnage that was meted out towards the bandits that had got in their way.

"That was the most hard-core shit I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing, and I have seen a lot," This time it was Misato's turn to speak up in amazement as she reassessed the usefulness of Toji's group. "Where did that come from?" She asked cupping her chin in wonder.

"Always go for the face, never let your enemy have a chance to breath and always, always, go in with the intent to make sure they never get back-up," Kensuke answered for them, nodding his head at remembering what Toji had told them.

Asuka had not been so surprised at how Toji and the rest had handled the situation; she was taken aback by how…thorough they had been. During the course of establishing themselves after rebirth, Asuka had watched Toji hand out similar cases of punishment to brigands, bandits, thieves, rapists and scum bags. If it was not for the fact he took his job so seriously she might have thought he enjoyed.

Despite the blood bath they had managed to, engage, fight, fuck up and leave the fight clean of injuries or blood. "Still, that blood is a hazard," Asuka began taking a breath while shattering everyone fixation. "Runners, go find some mops and buckets and clean this up. The rest, break here and check them over for anything we can use. After your done throw them in the toilets and lock them in there." The red-head commanded as she walked into a designer clothes shop while the runners got to work.

Toji hopped onto his bike while earning new looks respect from the NERV staff. He, however, ignored them, he was not looking for praise or anything or the like. It was a nasty job and if he did not do it someone with less grit would.

"That was pretty badass," Kensuke said to Toji and the group who only nodded. Toji smiled and held up the key they had found earlier at the pawn shop.

"Up for treasure hunting I-" He trailed off as he spotted someone standing in the crowd. He stood up and pushed Kensuke out of the way to look towards Hikari! What was she doing out of bed… had she finally come out of her coma, where was her sister?

Hikari took several steps back, eyes shocked as she looked from him to the bloody mess he had left behind him. Toji took more steps towards her and she made even more backwards.

"Hikari!" He called to her and she turned and began to run away through the crowd as Toji called to her again, "HIKARI!" He shouted but she did not stop, she was frightened, of him and what he had done. "fuck!"

Toji had not planned on ever showing Hikari this side of him. He went to go after her but Kensuke stopped him and shook his head. "it's best she comes to you, man, when she's ready…" was Kensuke's suggestion and Toji was not sure if he was trying to be clever or was actually serious, regardless, Toji's will to follow her abated once he realised he did not know what to say to her.

In all honesty, he was not ready to talk to her himself, a lot had happened while she was comatose; between him and his gang, Kensuke, the people of Tokyo-3 and Asuka. He would have to confront her eventually, the sooner the better but what did he expect to get out of the inevitable confrontation?

He kicked the air in frustration and moved back to his bike ignoring the curious and confused gazes of his gang. Kensuke hopped on and he sighed to himself before looking at the key and pocketing it.

He hoped he had better luck with this locker as sped off down the way they came his eyes on a constant lookout for Hikari.


	3. Ruins of NERV

**Ruins of NERV**

Misato sighed and scratched her head in mixture of vexation and relief. Up ahead was the entrance to the geo-front elevator, this one, in particular, was called the C-22 special Express and was the fastest and largest elevator heading down into the Geo-front subterranean cavern and NERV HQ. It had taken them almost two days to get there, mainly due to detours and delays in moving the wounded, sick and elderly across sudden elevations of terrain and hazards.

Misato was happy to see it along with many others. It had been a rough journey, both physically and mentally but seeing the station had almost made it worth it. The station looked badly damaged, part of the roof of the entrance had given way, one of the many guard towers had fallen into the station, and there were marks of battle spread here and there. You could almost feel the miasma of war coming off the place.

"We're almost there!" Someone cheered from the herd behind her, earning cheers of agreement from a few, then a dozen and then hundreds of people. The sound was almost deafening and Misato had to resist the urge to tell the group to shut up with a speaker phone she had found not too long ago.

Misato liked their enthusiasm but the elevator was an electrical form of transportation. The EMP emitted by third impact should have wiped out a lot of electronics; however, NERV was built with many EMP countermeasures and back-ups in mind. If a simple EMP was the only thing that had hit NERV Misato would not have been worried too much, after all, the technicians had been getting paid six digits annually for the job, they had better had made it EMP proof. No, the thing she was worried about was the damage the JSDF had inflicted on the facility along with the unmanned Evangelion attacks.

True, strategically speaking, the JSDF should sabotage a lot of electronics and gateways but they would not take out their own forms of transport in and out of the geo-front. She could only pray the damage was not too extensive that the NERV technicians following her could not fix it.

Misato and a group of NERV staff entered the check point and noted the blasted gate and entrance ways. She frowned with a mixture of anger and regret at the assault on NERV HQ.

Misato turned, with megaphone in hand, and commanded the scouts to form in. She turned to a young man, a university student, who was wearing a military radio backpack. The scouts, a group of eight high school athletes with only one of them being a boy, pulled out their short wave radios, connected them, via cable, to the radio on the university student before heading off to scout out the interior of the station. The action was to instantly synchronize the frequency of the radios so that the scouts could report in.

The university student, Haiiro, and Misato's entourage of high authority NERV staff, some section 2 employees and Asuka, moved to a large thirty meter by thirty meter two story guard tower and set up shop in there. This had been the usual process when they had to stop and allow the scouts to search and identify any hazards on their next path. This had multiple functions; it helped display control, allowed the some three hundred NERV employees and family members to rest as well as establish a command centre of sorts.

Asuka and Misato had taken the second level as the strategy room and had Maya and Makoto work together with Hairo, who was the hub for communications for and to the scout, to figure out the best way in to the elevator. The girls had been pleasantly surprised to find a shower room, untouched by the assault or third impact, complete with washing liquids, shampoo, conditioner and a large assortment of towels. They even had washing machines for clothing!

Despite what one would think of the station due to its name, it was actually very large and heavily damaged. It had an assortment of closed off routes or routes only accessible to a full abled bodied person.

It had taken three hours of searching before a route had been accepted as well as a few alternative routes to minimize congesting and keep the herd moving. Misato had declared that a skeleton guard should be deployed along the routes to guide people along, with security and morale sake, the mask of control always had to be enforced to make people feel safe, and in the guards' case, needed. She gave this order in nothing but a towel due to Asuka's suggestion as the red head had proceeded into the shower room herself.

The very few males in the strategy room watched longingly as her messy wet hair and sparkling skin made them swallow back drool. Being wrapped in a towel too short to properly cover her, just managing to stay low enough to cover her high thigh and cover her nipples but left a shameful amount of cleavage.

Maya and a few other women forced the men to head downstairs while they took turns washing themselves, cleaning their clothes and drying off. Their laughing and giggling only frustrated the men down stairs, both emotionally and sexually as they continued working the guard and scouts throughout the route with a major problem popping in the process.

Night had fallen and Asuka, who decided to take a nap before they began moving the people into the station, was woken up violently by Misato, the woman did not know subtlety. Asuka noted, through her messy uncombed hair and sleepy eyes, that Misato looked almost crestfallen. That snapped Asuka awake more than Misato's actions and she sat up straight in the lounge chair that had been brought up to the guard house.

"We've got a problem and one I don't think we can fix," were the first words out of Misato's mouth. Asuka glanced around the room as the women on the second floor chatted animatedly, oblivious to whatever this problem was. Deciding that this required privacy but too tired to move; Asuka decided to banish the other women off the second floor only to leave the sleeping children they had brought up so they did not have to face the elements outside or in those small tight fit tents. Once the room was cleared of listeners Misato continued. "The EMP cut out the connection to the main power station inside the station. The problem is every route to it is blocked and no one is going to unblock it without getting seriously injured. The technicians have suggested trying to get the entire station up and going but the power grid can only be access by a sub elevator and that elevator is blocking the way of the ladders that lear up to the power grid." Misato took a deep breath before reaching for a can of red Oni 02, the staple read *Red Evangelion, it will give you a Halo*

Asuka almost took the can and threw it out the window; those bastards had really gone out of their way to use the unit 2 design without telling her but how come she had never noticed it until now?

"Thoughts?" Misato asked over her can of Red Oni.

Ignoring Misato, Asuka leaned back with both hands behind her head wearing nothing but a lacy white bra and red and white striped panties. Her eyes stared vacantly at the ceiling, noting the fact that the lights in the guard house were active, while her toes played with one another. This, believe it or not, was Asuka's classical thinking pose and one she adopted when coming up with the best solutions to problems.

Misato watched as she folder her legs and moved her hands away from the back of her head and folded them over her chest, this usually meant Asuka had an idea on what to do but now she was simulating the theory.

Asuka chewed on her bottom lip before looking at Misato with that *I got it but I'm not 100% sure, go and ask me* look. Misato gestured her half empty can at Asuka in wonder at Asuka's intelligence.

"Remember when NERV had a power outage?" Misato did remember, it had become really hot stuck in the elevator with Kaji and she did not mean in a temperature way… well, she did. Misato shook her head violently but nodded her head in confirmation. Asuka shot her an odd look before continuing, "Well, me, baka-Shinji and the doll had to use emergency exits and ventilation vents to get in. We did have to climb a ladder the led right pass the power grid you mentioned," Misato straightened at that, put on her red jacket, which had dried, and began to throw away her can before Asuka stopped her.

Asuka took the can off her and threw it with all her might out the window in rage, the thought of all those lost royalties pounding in her brain. She let out a jet of boiling hot air from her nostrils and Misato swore she saw steam. Asuka took off her bra and panties, donned her plug suit and followed Misato downstairs to converse with the strategy team.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Asuka watched nostalgically as two men worked the manual lock by steering the bolting mechanism loose. It had been almost a year since she had watched Shinji do the exact same thing, with less speed but more effort. Whether that was a favourable way of looking at that was something she was not sure of but she preferred him to do it than these boorish pigs that kept looking at her every chance they got. She could not blame them really, she was doing nothing to negate their ogling, in fact; she was probably doing more to earn their stares.

Asuka recognised she had a complex in the way she wanted attention, dual standards if you will. Recently she had been paying more attention to how guys looked at her rather than just one individual. She had never had this with Kaji, she knew exactly what she wanted from him and that probably had to do with how much time he had spent in her life as the role model of a cool male adult, almost like her standard for men. He had been lecherous, perverted and a flirtatious when he was not in her presence but a complete gentlemen when she was.

There was some form of irony in that, she had always been told women were fickle and she had despised that aspect in her own mother but disliked her step mother for not being so. Kaji was fickle in his own right, as a person rather than in his direct actions.

It was only now, when she looked back at how she had been with Shinji that she truly understood how fickle she was. It had changed, slowly; the more Misato and Kaji hung out, the more she felt detached from him and more attached to Shinji. She wanted Kaji…but she also liked some aspects of Shinji and depending on her mood, she would change what standards applied only to Kaji or Shinji and then would switch the application to both.

Kaji probably saw it for what it was, childish and a phase of emotions, standards, wants and desires and decided to distance himself from it, a cowardly but smart move. Shinji decided to take what he was given, and she actually thought that was very manly… but oddly cowardly.

Now, when she thought about it, Shinji and Asuka were really like a married couple in that regard. If he made her happy then, as a bonus, she would not make his life miserable. If she was unhappy then he would have to take it with a pinch of salt and live through it.

It was then that Asuka decided she did not want a girl, especially a girl that was anything like her.

The men had finished unwinding the door and she glanced behind her at Kensuke and Maya as the door opened with a blast of air as the rooms tried to equalize in pressure. She had brought Kensuke, because he was very talented at repairing electronics with nothing but his hands, the other technicians needed more tools. She had rationed him some micro cutters and a utility belt to increase his chances of success. She had brought Maya for her knowledge of the NERV facility, understanding of the NERV code and text, computer skills and navigational skills…was the official story. In truth, she just did not want Kensuke staring at her ass and vagina the whole way through the trip crawling in the vents. She really did mean it, not the whole way, but some of the way would not kill her; she wondered if she could make him pop a boner from just watching her crawl. Toji or Shinji would make sure to keep their eyes downcast; Toji because he would prefer to cut his own nuts off if they betrayed him rather than look at her and Shinji would not look because he felt he was unworthy. Kensuke did not have such standards stopping him.

Asuka looked up and spotted the vent in the next room with a yellow hazard light warning staff not to block the vent. She walked up to it with Kensuke and Maya behind her while a few other people secured the room since it had a station that needed repair. Asuka looked at the vent oddly; she never understood how this vent actually worked. The vent was sealed shut by a black covering with yellow outlines that glowed in the dark. She guessed it had something to do with pressure and feeding the direct source of air through rooms that needed rather than rooms that did not.

She crouched, making sure to keep her back straight and not lean forward, her ass would poke out too much and, despite the attention she wanted, she had a hang up on a bent back: her mother always said it would make her look undignified and those words stuck.

She removed the panelling and instructed Hikari to go behind her with Kensuke bringing up the rear. The vent was surprisingly clean considering the weeks the station had been left unattended.

The crawl through the vents was a lot tougher than Asuka remembered. Her shoulders kept scraping the top of the vent and even though this was not one of the slimmer vents where she had to hug the floor to move through, it was still too small for her to move though on just her hands and knees. Still, this meant she had grown and she was very happy for it.

Asuka managed to surprise herself by going straight to the elevator tunnel at a section directly above the damaged elevator. She was not exactly sure how she had managed it, having only looked at the complicated route once, her navigational skills must have been a lot better than she though, though, she could always tell where south was, regardless of the time and place.

The ladder was beside the elevator, something that had frustrated Asuka as she had looked around like crazy for it only to have been beside her. She easily, and confidently, swung out and grabbed the metal handles before beginning her ascent towards the fourth level power grid. She was briefly reminded of the fight against that spider angel, one of her fondest memories, it was one of the few times she had been so glad to have comrades and even fewer that she had put them first instead of herself.

As she climbed the ladder, noting the neon markers to help light her way, she thought about the pain she had felt as the angel had tried to melt through her armour with its acid. She remembered the pain as if it was yesterday, well, that was impossible, the brain did not remember pain but she did remember how her resolve seemed to intensify with the more pain she felt.

She reached the top of the ladder and accessed a panel that had back-up power. A screen displayed itself to Asuka before asking her for a user name and password.

Asuka looked down to Maya "It's asking for a username and password,"

"What terminal is it?"

Asuka looked over the screen and found the terminal number in the top left.

"It's in the top lef-"

"26 A!"

"26-Alpha, then the username is Hokkaido and the password is kengo, with the kanji for fist, not sword!" Maya instructed trying to angle her head in some way in order to see the screen Asuka was typing away at. She was hoping that Kensuke was not looking up her skirt and it was the first time she had thought ill against the NERV uniform.

The panel beeped and Asuka smirked to herself, Shinji would have been proud with her development in the Japanese Kanji. It had always been a hindrance to her progress but she had turned it into a cute little flaw, something she could run with should the other boys in the class ask.

She leaned back as an entranceway appeared to the left of the ladder she was on with handle bars leading into it so she would not have to risk jumping.

Asuka, Maya and Kensuke made their way into the dimly lit hallway and directly to the power grid. The room was very large and almost dangerously cold, figuratively, of course. There was a cold haze hovering along the floor of the room, thick but almost peaceful. It was also damn cold, cold enough that Asuka's eraser sized nipples poked through her plugsuit.

Deciding that she really was not needed in the restoration of the power grid, nor did she want Kensuke staring at her chest for more than the usual reason, Asuka waited outside.

Kensuke was a good guy but therein lies the problem, for you see, Kensuke was good but he could be better and he knew it, secondly, he was a guy. Kensuke was also, very smart, he believed you had to use anything you could as much as you could, take his glasses for example. Kensuke had practiced in a mirror, hundreds of times, on how his glasses looked and reflected the light. If the light was slightly off to the right of the centre at a tilted upward angle then, Kensuke's eyes were invisible to anyone looking at him. This meant Kensuke good look at a woman's breasts for as long as he wanted to and they would be none the wiser. He had had a good look at Asuka's chest before she fled back into the hall, a little bonus for his efforts.

Kensuke looked at the centre of the room where a large black rectangular generator was sitting. The room was cold in order to compensate for the generator and would go into the lower kelvin region once the power was restored. The generator itself was troubling for it seemed undamaged and brand new; if it were not for the layer of dust on it Kensuke would have thought someone was maintaining it.

"The generator itself would have cut power and set off several circuit breakers to combat the EMP," Maya began as she began to circle the generator, her laptop, one of the few they got working, beeping away as if looking for something. "There should be a sub node that will allow us to access the generator and open it up for inspection. Just give me some time to find it…" She trailed off as she looked at the infrared connection on her screen. She made a weird confirmative sound once she found the node and accessed the backup power to open the generator's shell.

Cold steam rushed out of the generator as its case parted from each of the four corners displaying a grid of circuitry wrapped and interlaced through a cylindrical power core.

Kensuke popped his neck and picked up the tool kit by his side and quickly went to work on the power grid. Kensuke would not say it to many people, but he was very appreciative in the amount of trust everyone had placed in him. It was not like he did not earn it and, to be fair, if he had not worked his way up he would never have been knowledgeable enough to handle the power grid.

Kensuke was a miscellaneous boy; he knew a lot of trivia, little details and facts outside of the mainstream. He was a professional nerd and that did not bother him, he was one of the few boys who accepted what he was and ran with it. Still, it was not very useful, more so because he was a minor and could not work, at least not officially. Creating websites, managing social networks, code-breaking, hacking, intercepting, programming, anything you could do with a computer, Kensuke could do and he could do it better.

He remembered when he was so desperate to be part of NERV in anyway shape or form despite the protests of his father. He had been surrounded by people who had dreams, goals, responsibilities, and all Kensuke had been interested in was manga and the internet.

He was envious, not to a large extent, but still enough to sometimes make him feel dissatisfied with himself. It was only until the last months before third impact that Kensuke really felt sickened and pitiful with his lack of ability. Toji, Shinji, Rei and even Asuka were constantly fighting the angels, he had thought it was all glamour, all kicking ass and no stress, a lot of money and a shit load of attention. When Makoto told him the truth, recounted the lies, the risks of piloting Eva, the battle of NERV HQ and the things they made the pilots do, Kensuke's perception of NERV fell apart.

But like a forest fire, new life was given fruit, or in Kensuke's case, a goal. Thanks to third impact, he had been given a new chance at life, where his miscellaneous knowledge did nothing for him before impact; now, now it was invaluable. Now Kensuke had power, and no, it may have not equalled the power the pilots had held,but it was just as, if not more, useful in this new age than ever before. Kensuke had set his sights on taking the torch from the pilots by saving humanity in his own way.

It was the only way he could apologize to Shinji, regardless of whether or not he comes back as well as the other pilots.

The wires in his fingers sparked together and he looked up with a grin that could not fit his face as the generator came to life and Kensuke could not help but say: "Let there be light!" Before breaking out into a comical evil laugh that sent Maya into a fit of giggles. "I'm going to do it, Shinji," He said to the ceiling of the rapidly cooling generator room.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Asuka sat on one of the abandoned cars inside the C-22 super express train. They had decided to put everyone on the large vehicle platform instead of staircase like small vehicle platforms. The large platform was some two hundred and fifty meters by two hundred meters, a tight fit because of the vehicles but it could fit two hundred people just fine. Besides, they were leaving a skeleton crew to watch over the station like they did the beach; they were already making plans for reconstruction.

Asuka looked over to the north end of the elevator where there was a manual control booth. She could see Misato talking over a radio as large as her head as other NERV members were looking over the safety devices and bypassing security measures.

They had been waiting almost an entire hour and the excursion had almost been called off since one of the platforms beneath them was jammed. They had to jettison it and, apparently, it was still falling which was not surprising for an elevator shaft that's was almost two miles long. The jamming itself had not been the problem; the problem was that releasing the platform would mean disabling the emergency breaking points. This meant, should the breaks fail to work on their own platform; they would be dropping for almost two miles straight with nothing to stop them. That fact even made Asuka's hair's stand up and that meant a lot.

A beep of the intercom for the elevator beeped and everyone looked up as Misato made an announcement. "Okay, everyone, we've been green lit, we got a number of emergency brakes working so we won't have to worry about falling…all the way," There were nervous chuckles at that and all Asuka could do was sigh amusedly at her guardian, it would have been troubling if Misato did not add that little bit at the end of the announcement.

Asuka stood up on the bus and cupped her hands around her mouth. "To NERV!" She shouted at the top of her lungs and everyone shouted at the same words a moment later. Misato gave Asuka the thumbs up before a large vibration travelled throughout the elevator followed by moving gears and powering systems. Another shudder later and the entire elevator started to move down towards the Geo-front.

They were now on the last stretch.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

The trip down to the NERV was meant to take a little less than an hour, but because of the precautionary mentality everyone had taken, it seemed more appropriate to go at half the speed this annoyed Asuka.

Honestly, what would it matter if they went faster, the longer they stayed in transition the more chances that things could go wrong would increase. Asuka was all for caution, when appropriate, but this just raised tension and created an unhealthy mentality, sometimes you had to barrel through a brick wall instead of chipping away at it.

For this reason, Asuka decided to head towards the control booth and let Misato have a piece of her mind. She stopped, however, at hearing two familiar voice engaged in a tense conversation.

"Hikari, I had to do it, they had weapons, and you must of know what they were asking for," That came from Toji who was sitting on his bike, his right hand gripping the left handle tightly as he faced Hikari.

Hikari shook her head in disagreement, "No, Toji, I know you had to defend everyone, but you went too far, you could of killed,"

"But I didn't, I-"

"That doesn't mean you didn't try!"

Toji leaned away from Hikari at that, his face scrunched as he thought about how best to respond. Toji was not a word man, oh, he definitely had a lot to say, but most of it was very insensitive.

"The way you kept hitting them even when they had already had enough, the blows to the head… I may not be a doctor but I've learned enough from my sister, especially in the last week or so, about the human body and what it can and can't take. You went too far!"

Asuka could tell Toji was starting to lose his cool, yet, he could not make himself say what he needed to say to her. Asuka decided it was time to intervene, Toji had no chance of victory, he was a man; by default he would never win an argument. The thing is, Hikari needed to know the score and how things had changed, both the good and the bad.

"That's enough, Suzuhara, I'll take it from here." The pair looked over to Asuka as she stepped in-between them. "I've got it from here, tell Misato to speed this thing up," Asuka gestured around her in reference to the elevator. Toji glanced at Hikari then back to Asuka before getting up and walking away with a frustrated expression, over Hikari or his dismissal, Asuka did not know.

Asuka turned on Hikari, hands on hips and Hikari looked away before looking up as Asuka suddenly embraced her in a tight hug. Hikari returned the hug and she almost burst into tears, she managed to hold on before Asuka guided her to sit down on the bike with her. It had been so long since they had spoken to one another. It had been brief; when she was still falling in and out of consciousness. Back then they had only expressed gratitude that one another was alive, they had not truly spoken since before third impact.

"Asuka," Hikari began apologetically. "I'm so sorry, I was never there for you when you needed someone the most, I should have never left Tokyo-3 when things got bad, I'm sorry!" Hikari could not look at Asuka when she said that, if she had, she would have seen Asuka's bewildered expression.

In all truth, Asuka was way pass that, she had almost forgotten it had happened, the depression, the running away, and the suicide, all of it. That was not because of something so pathetic like she wanted to hide it all away because she was ashamed… well, it was shameful but that was not the main reason. Truly and honestly, it just meant so little to her, there was no explanation why, it just did, some people go through things that would change someone else's life entirely while they themselves would just shrug it off. If life was like water than some people were like a sponge, others like a rock.

Hikari felt a soft but firm hand grasp her shoulder and she looked up towards Asuka's smiling, kind face. "Honestly, Hikari, you worry about the silliest things, like a certain idiot…" She said off handily. "You had to go, Tokyo-3 was not safe, not once did I ever think you had betrayed me or anything silly like that… There's nothing to forgive, so no crying!" Asuka then pulled Hikari back into a hug and, despite Asuka's instructions she could not help but shed a few tears, but this time in happiness.

"Thank you, Asuka, I've been so worried, everything has changed now and I just don't know where I stand anymore…" Hikari said, pulling back from the embrace.

Asuka looked towards the booth as she felt the elevator speed up on its descent; Toji was bowing his head apologetically to Misato who had her arms folded.

"Yeah, things have changed but it's not like its unliveable, we're here and we're moving forward. We still don't know what we're going to do once we get to NERV," Asuka said whimsically.

Hikari wiped her eyes, "I thought you were going to set up living quarters and rebuild?"

"Yeah, but… Like, what for, there's the need for accommodations and a safe place to live, NERV HQ being the best since we can monitor who comes in and out and its more home to most people then their very own houses. But that doesn't give us much purpose, its times like these that you want some instruction, times when you wonder, what is the purpose to life, why did you even bother coming back, there must be a reason or… maybe there really is no reason." Asuka checked over her hand, the plug suit was losing its colouring, it was not meant for continual days' worth of use and she was not even cleaning it properly, she still could not force herself to abandon it for more practical clothing.

Hikari placed her hand over Asuka's who looked up, surprised. "We'll just have to make one then!" She said cheerfully, cheerfully infectious, because Asuka could not help but smile as well. It reminded her of that time on the beach when everyone started laughing, there was hope in that laugh like there was hope in Hikari's smile because she truly believed they could find a purpose.

"Like Toji's purpose to defend us," Asuka did not know why she said that, she did not even regret saying it even as Hikari's face fell at those words. "Saving us, protecting us, so we do not get abused, brutalised, raped and killed," Just to clarify, Asuka's use of 'us' did not actually include herself and it seemed like her mouth was on auto-pilot and she could do nothing to stop it, it was kind of like watching a car accident that you know you could stop but would make no move to do so.

"Stop it, Asuka; you know he went too far-"

Asuka's auto-pilot mouth continued on as if Hikari had never spoken. "I remember the first time Toji killed a guy with a gun after he aimed it at his sister, he wasn't as shaken as I thought he'd be," Hikari was shocked at this revelation and Asuka carried on as if she was discussing wildlife at the Zoo. "Then the time someone beat him unconscious because he thought he had dished out enough, the girl that got raped by the attacker died a few hours later, Toji could have saved that girl if he had did what he had did at the mall a few days ago. It's a shame, he wouldn't have had to if this was before third impact and the police was still around." Asuka's face was devoid of expression as she finished, her eyes locked on Hikari's.

Hikari looked towards the booth that Toji was leaning against as he spoke to Kensuke. Her eyes returned to Asuka's before looking back down at the ground. "A-are you saying what he did was right?"

Asuka softly shook her head; "Toji was justified, he had to do what neede-" Asuka was cut off.

"There's nothing justifiable in violence!"

"I know that but listen," Asuka paused as she thought about the way she had abused Shinji… but he was being really annoying, and he did not get the message, at least, in that case it was justified, he was indirectly begging for it by being clueless and spineless. Sensing her rising anger at the memory, more so with Hikari's changing expression, Asuka took a deep breath and tried again. "The world is not governed by rules anymore, everything has been reset, I believe violence will get us nowhere, I know, that's a lot coming from me but I'm not stupid either. Violence is wrong, I knew that from day one but why do you think soldiers go out to war, why people sign up for the military and get their hands bloody, take lives and destroy others?"

Hikari looked around in thought before answering hesitantly. "For patriotism?"

"It's so their families, their friends, their wives, husbands and children, won't have to," Her words seemed to hit Hikari and she proceeded to drive the point home. "Think about it, Hikari, think about all the violence you've seen, all the confrontations and even that thing at the mall. A Dozen men who did not want to listen to reason, who would have hurt, raped and killed the people with us. No one could reason with them, it was there way and no alternative, no compromise. Now, ask yourself, do you want to be someone's slave?" Asuka asked

Hikari shook her head.

"Do you want to be hurt, beaten or stabbed?"

Again, Hikari shook her head, this time more sadly.

"Do you want to be raped?"

A shake of the head.

"Become someone's public toilet?"

A horrified look accompanied the vehement shake of the head.

"Do you want to become pregnant with a rapists child, to carry the shame, to make the child carry the shame or even go through the experience of aborting it?" the words made Asuka feel sick but she had to continue.

Tears fell from Hikari's eyes.

"Do you want to hurt people, do you want to break their bones, and do you want them to suffer, make them scream so loud they will echo throughout your sleep?"

Hikari put her head in her hands as the tears flowed, she managed to shake her.

"Do you want take someone's life, possibly make an entire family suffer with the loss to save dozen's if not hundreds more, could you do that?" This was Asuka's last question.

"No!" Hikari choked out in between sobs.

Asuka stood up and Hikari looked up at her. "Toji does that, Toji hurts and, even sometimes, kills so you don't have to. He has to weigh the people he's sworn to protect, the people he cares about over others, but if he does not do it, he and his gang, then someone else will. That could be you, me, his sister, your sister, anyone. I'm not the type of woman who needs defending, I am trained to defend or kill a man in ninety different ways with one hand, and I'm not one for chivalry. However, I do respect selfless acts," the thought of Shinji defeating more Angels than her suddenly flashed across her eyes. "Sometimes… but more importantly, I appreciate and never complain about something he's willing to do that I'd rather not."

Hikari sat on the bike, her tears had stopped as she looked towards Toji sombrely, and she must have caught his eye because a sudden worried frown creased his face.

Asuka sighed. "He couldn't tell you because, among his lack of linguistic skills, he did not want to hurt you like I just did, but you need to understand not just what he's doing but why he's doing it. You do not have to like it or support it, but don't look down on his duty when you don't even understand the full weight of what it entails. It's like spitting on his face after he built you a fortress just because of how he built it." Asuka then pointed to Toji who mistook the gesture and shot her the middle finger back. "Now go talk to that idiot and at least tell him you understand, besides, you guys need each other, as gross as that is." She folded her arms as Hikari nodded her head but did not move for a while.

Sighing in frustration, Asuka moved to Hikari and stood her up. She grasped her face and made Hikari stare into her eyes, there was intensity with a hidden softness put into Asuka's gaze and an observer would be able to see Hikari's resolve build up. Hikari reached out and put her hands on Asuka's shoulders before nodding, turning and marching off to Toji. Toji looked alarmed at the way Hikari walked towards him and the people that noticed her expected quite a verbal beating to head Toji's way.

Asuka broke into laughter as she watched Toji prostrate himself in front of Hikari when she got into speaking distance. Asuka could not hear what was said and she really did not care, she was just making sure her friend did not cut off one of the few connections she had left in this world.

It was a shame no one would or, maybe even, could do the same for her.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

"It's with great relief and pride for me to announce to everyone here that we have now arrived at NERV HQ!" Misato said joyfully over the speaker as the elevator came to a surprisingly smooth stop. The room erupted into cheers and people jumped around, pulling one another into hugs and even kisses. Asuka was not so overjoyed, she was happy, yes, but they had to see what NERV's condition was, let alone if it was liveable.

The elevator doors opened and scouts were sent out to secure the exit, Asuka took this time to head towards Misato who was on the radio while directing guards to create check points, like they did with the station above, to guide the people the right way. Asuka had expected Misato to look more animated but she had shelved her excitement and had put on her commander cap on, choosing safety over joy.

From what she could tell, the station was largely undamaged and finding the exit had been simple. The scouts reported sighting NERV HQ and let her know that it was a straight shot from the station to the base, the road was undamaged.

Misato gave the all clear and Asuka made sure the guards and guides reminded the people to remain calm and move in a sensible and orderly manner. If they rushed then they would just congest the halls, the people on stretchers and or with manoeuvring difficulties could be hurt if that happened. As a precaution, Asuka ordered for the able bodied to go first with the others coming in last.

Asuka was then told by Misato to go with Makoto and Maya to the exit and check out NERV. Toji had gone out with his biker group, which had grown to ten men, just after the scouts did, Hikari had decided to stay and help the wounded, and her sister had stayed at the station above since they were converting into a hospital and station.

This was actually the first time she had come through this station; she usually had to go down a different elevator root directly into the Evangelion cages. She suspected that she may see these halls a lot so she made note of all the details as she passed.

She spotted the exit and the smell of fresh air and water filled her nostrils that meant the pool built into NERV HQ was still fresh. She stopped through the exit and stopped, like so many others just standing there, to take in the sight of NERV HQ.

The ruins of NERV were bad… but not nearly as bad as Misato or the other NERV personnel had predicted it would be. The top of the pyramid was destroyed but that area only seated the commander's office and the observation tower, no huge loss. The pool was surprisingly clear considering it was predicted that the purification system would have stopped working a week ago unless it went to back up power but that would only happen if the EMP had not hit it. This meant a lot of things but the biggest thing was that NERV still had power and that was far more than anyone had expected. Perhaps the Geo-front was EMP proof, regardless; they had a facility with the possibility of having lighting, running water, heating and electricity as well as equipment to boot.

As Asuka stood there, appreciating the devastated but still beautiful scenery, she would one day take note this was where her life changed and this was the day, the moment, she started becoming a woman.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

_Sorry about any spelling or grammar mistakes, I am currently seeking out a beta so please tolerate it for now_

_If you enjoyed reading this then please leave a review of what you think. I really do enjoy reading them and it always helps me keep track on how coherent the story is _

_Regardless of whether or not you choose to review_

_Thank you for reading_


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